Justices lift curfew on sex offender

The New Jersey Parole Board violated a repeat sex offender's constitutional rights by imposing an all-night curfew without giving him a chance to challenge it, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

In a unanimous decision, the high court said Ronald Jamgochian -- who twice assaulted women after luring them with promises of modeling work -- was improperly ordered confined to his home from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. The curfew was based on a woman's complaint to police that he had made her feel uncomfortable after offering her work.

The court found the board violated his due process rights and must provide offenders notices and a "meaningful opportunity to be heard."

The parole board could reasonably have found his behavior was a "prelude to recidivism," but he still deserved an opportunity to contest the allegations and curfew, Justice Barry Albin wrote for the court, adding a nightly 11-hour curfew encroaches upon on Jamgochian's right to liberty.

"The loss of freedom occasioned by home confinement is not as complete as imprisonment in a penal institution, but it is, nevertheless, a deprivation of liberty. Meaningful procedural protections that would lessen the likelihood of mistaken imposition of a curfew ... serve both the interests of the supervised offender and the state," Albin wrote.

Jamgochian's attorney, Joseph Murphy, was pleased by the decision.

"We can't just give due process to honorable people," he said. "Due process means there has to be some fair procedure set up so that people don't get thrown into jail because of whim and arbitrariness.

State Parole Board officials also said they were pleased the court said the agency had the expertise and authority to come up with a scheme to handle future cases.

"The decision more narrowly defines the process that is due and clarifies the factors that must be considered. It also upholds the state parole board's ability to impose a curfew on an emergency basis and afford due process afterwards, in the interest of public safety," said spokesman Neal Buccino.

In 1979, Jamgochian was convicted of leading an extortion operation in which Playboy Bunnies from a Vernon resort were lured to his home, drugged and videotaped while they were raped. He served eight years of a 12-year sentence.

Ten years ago, a 20-year-old California woman came to New Jersey expecting to model for the cover of a romance novel. When she arrived, Jamgochian bound her and then gave her the choice of performing a sex act in front of a video camera or being gang-raped. He was sentenced to four years in state prison and placed on community supervision for life.

In 2005, 3 1/2 years after his release, he propositioned a 17-year-old waitress at a diner, offering a job opportunity and asking her to keep the conversation quiet. She became concerned and alerted Rockaway Township police.

The next day, the parole board concluded the curfew would "lessen the likelihood of Mr. Jamgochian's return to criminal activity."

Wednesday's 36-page decision said Jamgochian is no longer under a curfew and the ruling is meant to apply to any future curfews officers seek to impose on him or other offenders being supervised for life. Over 200 offenders on lifetime supervision are currently on curfew, the court said.

Jamgochian, 58, and now living in Somerset County selling long-distance telephone services, called the ruling logical.

"This is about a comment allegedly made that made someone feel uncomfortable. The parole board made a big leap from that I was going to do something wrong. I was never even given an opportunity to say that is not what happened," he said.